First build, £875 budget, must have 144hz monitor--help!

Associate
Joined
26 Mar 2016
Posts
10
Location
Philippines
I'm a first time PC builder, anxiously waiting to pick up the AMD Radeon RX 480. I'd like to ask the masters here some advice. First of all, here's my build:

************ part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£169.35)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler (£28.49)
Motherboard: MSI Z170A GAMING PRO CARBON ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£104.80)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (£48.49)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£67.65)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£33.30)
Case: NZXT S340 - Designed by Razer ATX Mid Tower Case (£81.32)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£45.60)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit (Purchased For £0.00)
Monitor: AOC G2460PF 24.0" 144Hz Monitor (£185.00)
Keyboard: Razer BlackWidow Chroma Wired Gaming Keyboard (Purchased For £0.00)
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder Chroma Wired Optical Mouse (Purchased For £0.00)
Headphones: Razer KRAKEN 7.1 CHROMA 7.1 Channel Headset (Purchased For £0.00)
Total: £764.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by ************ 2016-06-25 06:03 BST+0100

It's already at £764, but the AMD Radeon RX 480 is not even there yet. I have a limited budget of £875 and I'm pretty sure I would go over that if I buy the AMD Radeon RX 480. Sadly, the monitor is included in the budget since I don't have a monitor. I chose the said monitor because it's probably the cheapest 1080p 144HZ FreeSync monitor out there, and I need those features since I like FPS games. The Razer case is a must since I have Razer peripherals and I'd like to stay with that green theme. I chose the motherboard simply because I think it has good on-board sound (Nahimic?) I could be wrong though, who am I kidding, I'm new at these things. I should probably pick a cheaper mobo--I don't know. I went with Cryorig H7 because it's an air cooler and I'm a first time builder so I wouldn't want to risk water damage from an AIO...although I like the look of the Kraken X61. What can I lose/change in order to fit my budget? Do you guys think the AMD Radeon RX 480 is overkill for 1080p gaming anyway so I should get an RX 470/460 instead? Thoughts? Thanks!
 
I think you will have to go down to an i5 6400 and an H170 motherboard. I can't see anywhere else to save any money. All signs point to RX 480 being not overkill for 1080p.
As much as I can, I'd try to keep the Z170 since I'd like to get an i7 6700K eventually. Planning to stream and do some overclocking.
as above, but another choice could be the i3 6100 and keep the z170 motherboard, which would give you an easier upgrade path in a year or 2.
This solution sounds better. Hopefully it's enough to keep the cost down! Do you think I should get a cheaper Z170 board though? Like, say, MSI Z170-A PRO (£69.85)? It doesn't have the bells and whistles the carbon pro has though.
 
Could save a few pounds with a cheaper ssd, this one doesn't come with free shipping, but the RX480 probably will :)

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £56.69
(includes shipping: £8.70)


I was trying to stay as true as I could to OPs choices but that SSD swap would probably just make the difference to be able to fit a 480 into this budget :)
 
While that's true enough. With the kaby lake processors coming down the line. There will be some very good upgrade options available in a year or 2 and keeping the z170 will make it easier to make the most of it :)
 
Kaby is expected to be a non-event and even if it blows all predictions out of the water the change will still be marginal so not worth doing for most budget-conscious users.
 
Back
Top Bottom